Apparatus for capping bottles



March 7, 1939. E. N. WINSLOW APPARATUS FOR CAPPING BOTTLES 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 1, 1957 l IlllllllEl llll wig lrlllllllll Fla.

//v VEN 70/? EDWARD A/ VV/NSA ow A TTOANEK March 7, 1939. E. N. WINSLOW APPARATUS FOR CAPPING BOTTLES 5 Sheet-Sheet 3 Filed April 1, 19557 //v l EN 7-04? EDI VA RD /I/. W/A/sz 0W TTO/P/VE'K Patented Mar. 7, 1939 OFFICE 2,149,377 V v APPARATUS FOR OAPPING BOTTLES Edward N. Winslow, Shaker Heights, Ohio, as-

signor to E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Com- Pany, Wilmington, Del., a corporation of Del-' aware Application April. 1, 1937., Serial No. 134,284

2 Claims. (Cl. 226- -8 This invention relates to packaging and is particularly concerned with an apparatus for applying elastic caps to bottles.

Rubber caps not unlike a thimble in shape and 1 provided with a heavy bead at the open end are commonly applied to glass-stoppered bottles used in the chemical industry for packaging corrosive liquids. Caps of this type are used primarily to hold the stopper in placeand to protect the sealing medium used to seal the juncture of the stopper and the bottle.

- The advantages offered by the use of the rubber cap, however, have been considerably offset by the difiiculty of applying the cap. When the operation was effected by hand, injury and discomfort to the operator resulted. Even-when-hand application was aided by the use of such apparatus as was heretofore available the task was onerous and difiicult. Furthermore, the cap was rarely applied evenly asit was inordinately diflicult so to apply it.

It is an object of this invention to provide an apparatus for applying elastic caps to -bottles, which apparatus is effective andeconomical and easily and simply operated and carried out;

wherein the necessity of manipulating the cap into place by the fingers of the'operator is avoided, and; wherein the cap is applied evenly and uniformly to the bottle. Further objects will be apparent hereafter. 7

In-the accompanying drawings:

Fig; 1 is an axial section-of my'capping mechanism in the closed position; showing a rubber cap in place prior to expanding it for application to the bottle;

Fig. 2 is a similar view of the-expandedposition showing the first stage of the application of the expanded cap to the bottle;

Fig. 3 is a similar viewshowing an' intermediate position in the application of the rubber cap.

Fig. 4 is a similar view showing the final position with the cap applied;

Fig, 5 is a fragmentary section taken in" line 5-501 Fig.7 f

Fig. 6 is a plan view showing my capping mechanism in the closed position, and;

Fig. '7 is a plan section takenon lineL-l of Fig. 1. V 7

As shown in the accompanying drawings'my apparatus consists of a plurality of circularly arranged upright fingers l'adapted to be positionedlwithin the open end of arubber cap and means for radially expanding these fingersin "such-Va. manner thatthe rubber cap; may be .ex-

panded sufficiently freely to encompass the 11801! of the bottle.

The fingers l form a unitary part of the L- shaped finger slides 2 which are confined to radial movement by the'radial channel guides 3 formed 5 between the radially-channelled, annular guide plate 4 and the annular base plate 5. The plates 4 and 5 are fastened together by the headed fasteners 6 which are threaded into the annular buffer-ring 1, the whole forming an assembly 8 10 in which the finger slides 2' are slidably mounted.

By this construction, the slides Z are confined to radial movement'so that the fingers I may be positioned in either of the positions illustrated in Figs. 1 and-2' at will. In order that the closed position of Fig. 1 may be the normal one,-I provide an elastic band 9 arranged to urge the slides inwardly asshown in Figs. 6 and '7.

Actuation of the finger slides 2 is efiected by means of links l0 pivotally connecting the ends of the slides2 to'the axially movable top plate II. The outer ends of the links are journaled in housings 12 at the ends of slides 2 and the inner ends of the links are similarly journaled in the housings l3 equally spaced on the top plate I I.

.Raising the topplate H causes the slides 2 to moveinwardly so that the fingers I move to the closed positioneillustrated in Fig. 1. Pressing the top plate toward the assembly 8 causes the slides Zto move outwardly so-that the fingers I move to: the expanded position illustrated in Fig. 2. Thusitmay be seen thatthe fingers I may be moved from theposition shown in Fig. 1 to that shown in -Fig. 2, without disturbing the relative circular arrangement, by simply pressing the top plate ll toward the assembly 8. Movement in this manner .from a small circle of arrangement to a larger circle of arrangement makes it possible to expand the rubber cap uniformly about its periphery sufiiciently freelyto encompass the neck of the bottle;

Oncethe top'is expanded asillustrated in Fig.

2; it may be-appliedby asimple downward thrust.

In this manner, the fingers are withdrawn from the cap but'not until th'e'bead l4"has been pulled down to "a point 'sufiiciently below the shoulder l5 to allow it to snap snugly into place beneath the shoulder. Successive positions during this operation are illustrated in Figs. 2, 3 and 4.

Thus Fig. 2 shows the initial position with the interior apex l6 of the cap engaging thetop of the stopper l1 Fig. 3 shows an intermediate position with the walls of the cap engaging the lip; l8 of the bottle; and Fig. 4' shows the'final 55 position with the bead l4 snugly engaging the shoulder l5.

It may be observed that between the initial position and the intermediate position shown in Figs. 1 and 2, respectively, the pressure on the top plate II has been released sothat the fingers I engage the neck of the bottle. In this manner the clearance between the cap and the neck or the bottle is reduced to a minimum so that the fingers may be withdrawn more easily. Likewise, the spacing between the bead I4 and the neck of the bottle is uniformly maintained.

As the downward movement continues from the position shown in Fig. 3 toward the position shown in Fig. 4, the cap is stretched further. Due to the frictional engagement of the walls of the cap with the lip of the bottle, however, this stretching is confined to the portion of the cap, as shown in Fig. 3, that is between the bead I4 and the lip I8 of the bottle. The stretching of this portion of the cap continues until the bead is well below the shoulder I5.

At the same time the fingers I are being gradually withdrawn. By the time they are completely withdrawn, however, the bead I4 will have been drawn sumciently below the shoulder I5 to snap automatically into place beneath the shoulder. This action is facilitated by the fact that the fingers I move inwardly as they slip past the shoulder I5 so that the tension of the bead i is further reduced.

The tool is removed, after completion of the application of the cap in Fig. 4, by compressing plate II to position as shown in Fig. 2. In this position the fingers clear the outside of the cap over the lip I8.

It is to be understood that no means is relied upon for pulling the bead I4 to a point below the shoulder I5 before its release, other than the frictional resistance which the bead offers to the Withdrawal of the fingers I. The force which counteracts this frictional resistance is engendered by the stretching of the portion of the cap, as shown in Fig. 3, that is below the lip I8.

It will be readily apparent that the length of this portion of the cap may be varied by varying the length of the fingers I. Thus the longer the fingers, the farther the bead I4 may be stretched below the shoulder i5 before it is released. If the fingers I are too short the bead will be released too quickly so that it will not be properly seated below the shoulder; if they are too long the bead will not be released because the downward movement of the assembly 8 is limited by the bottle proper.

I have found that the best results are obtained when the length of the fingers I is approximately equal to the height of the shoulder I5 plus the height of the bead I4.

It may be seen from the above that once the cap is placed over the fingers, as shown in Fig. 1, it may be applied by simply pressing the top plate II toward the assembly 8, positioning the interior apex of the cap upon the top of the stopper, and pushing the assembly downward. The entire operation, even in the hands of a novice, requires not more than a few seconds and involves no hand manipulation of the cap whatsoever. Hence the bottles may be capped more rapidly than heretofore and without personal injury or discomfort to'the operator.

Not only is the necessity of hand manipulating of the caps eliminated by my processes and apparatus but also the necessity for hand manipulation of the bottles. Whereas it has heretofore been necessary to remove the bottles from the truck upon which they are conveyed to a suitable work table to give the operator ample room for applying the cap, it is now possible by the use of my processes and apparatus to cap the bottles Without removing them from the truck as the outside diameter of my apparatus freely clears adjoining bottles nested on the production truck. In actual plant scale operations the gross time required for the application of the cap has been reduced by fifty per cent.

Another factor of importance is the reduction in the breakage hazard. By the elimination of the necessity for removing the bottle the possibility of breakage by dropping is eliminated.

Although I have mentioned that it is desirable to release the top plate II once the cap is in position, as shown in Fig. 2, it is to be understood that this is not essential. The entire oper-- ation may be satisfactorily carried out with the top plate II tightly pressed against the assembly 8. Operation in this manner is not so desirable, however, because in the first place more force is required to withdraw the fingers and in the second place the clearance illustrated in Fig. 2' permits of lateral movement that may cause nonuniform spacing of the bead I4 about the neck of the bottle.

Due to the fact that the assembly 8 may strike.

the bottle proper with considerable force when the cap is released, it is desirable to provide the buffer ring I. It is to be understood, however, that the buffer ring is purely a safetydevice and consequently not essential to the operation of the.

apparatus. When employed, however, its thickness and diameter should be so correlated to the curvature of the bottle, as shown in Fig. 4, so that the downward movement of the assembly 8 is interrupted substantially at the point of release. In. this manner rugged material, such as fiber or hard rubber, that has relatively slight shock absorbing properties may be successfully used.

Although I have illustrated six fingers in the drawings it is apparent that any larger number, within the limits of mechanical practicability, may be employed. A substantially smaller number should be avoided, however, as it is apparent that the smaller the number of fingers the less uniform the expansion of the cap. I do not wish to be restricted to six, however, as five may be used with good results and even three or four may be used acceptably.

The essential feature of my apparatus resides in the fingers I which are adapted to be inserted within an unexpanded cap and to expand the cap sufiiciently for it freely to encompass the neck of the bottle. It will be apparent therefore that any suitable means may be employed for moving these fingers. Although I have disclosed a plurality of sliding members 2 for this purpose, it will be readily apparent ,to those skilled in the art that various mechanical movements may be used for spreading the fingers such as pivoted members.

A particular advantage of the construction illustrated, however, resides in the mechanical advantage obtained in moving the top plate II from the position of Fig. 1 to that of Fig. 2. In the latter position it may be observed that the links III are sufficiently close to a position of static equilibrium that only slight pressure on the top plate II is required to maintain the expanded condition against the tension of the rubber cap. The links could be so arranged that static equilibrium would be obtained but this is undesirable because, as previously pointed out, better results are obtained when the top plate is released between the position of Figs. 2 and 3.

Although I have shown and described my apparatus as particularly adapted to the application of rubber caps to C. P. acid bottles of the type illustrated, it is apparent that it may be used to apply elastic caps of various types to various bottles. It may be used, for example, in applying relatively shallow rubber caps to milk bottles, although it is apparent that the application of such caps do not offer the same difficulties as the application of the deep cap.

Due to the fact that the drawings have been made from a commercial form of my apparatus,

anumber of perforations I9 may be observed in the plates 4, 5, and II. 'As these perforations are provided mainly for the purpose of reducing the weight of the structure it is apparent they are not essential. They serve to illustrate, however, that the form of the plates 4 and in between the channel guides 3 is relatively unimportant so long as it is such as to maintain the radial position of the channel guides 3 and 3. Thus it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that the channel guides 3 may be formed in various ways and that they may be maintained in radial position by suitable connecting structures, whether by the perforated web portions of the plates 4 and 5 as shown, by suitable interconnecting braces or networks or by similar structures, or whether formed of a plurality of discrete plates as shown, as a unitary casting or similar structure.

Although I have disclosed an arrangement wherein the loci of arrangement are circles, it is apparent that the loci of arrangement may correspond to other geometrical figures, the essential feature being that the final or larger loci of arrangement correspond to the shape of the body to which the cap is to be applied. Correspondingly, the inner or smaller loci of arrangement may take any form desired.

It is to be understood that the movement of the fingers from the inner loci of arrangement to the outer may be varied from the manner shown, the essential feature being that the fingers be relatively movable. Thus one or more of the fingers may be fixed and the remaining ones movable relative thereto. For example, in applying elastic caps to elliptical bodies the finger corresponding to the minor axis of the ellipse may be fixed. A similar arrangement may, of course, be used with circular bodies if desired but the cap would have to be stretched across the fixed fingers before it could be expanded.

I claim:

1. In an apparatus for expanding an elastic cap for application to a cylindrical body, a plurality of circularly arranged upright fingers projecting rigidly from the inner end of a plurality ofv slides confined to radial movement by radial guides, a top plate axially movable with respect to said guides and means connecting the outer end of said slides with said top plate to transmit axial movement of said top plate into radial movement of said slides.

2. In an apparatus for expanding an elastic cap for application to a cylindrical body, a plurality of circularly arranged fingers projecting rigidly from the inner ends of slides confined to radial movement by guides radially mounted on an annulus, a second annulus parallel to and axially movable with respect to said first annulus and link means connecting said second annulus with the outer ends of said slides arranged to transmit axial movementof said second annulus into radial movement of said slides whereby the relative circular arrangement of said fingers is unchanged, the inside diameter of said annuli being greater than the diameter of the largest circular arrangement of said fingers whereby the space interiorly of said fingers is open and unobstructed.

EDWARD N. WIN SLOW. 

